The most common types of bicycle brakes are rim brakes, coaster brakes and disc brakes. Disc brakes provide certain advantages over the other two, more popular types of bicycle brakes and have, particularly in recent years, been the subject of increasing interest to bicycle designers and manufacturers as well as designers of brake systems generally. U.S. Pats. No. 2,612,968; 3,373,845; 3,655,015; 3,655,016; 3,675,740; and 3,675,741, for example, all deal with various types of disc brakes adapted for use with bicycles.
Generally, the above noted patents rely upon a rotary motion about an axis parallel to the axis of the brake disc to force the brake pads into engagement with the opposite faces of the brake disc. In most, this rotary motion is accomplished with a threaded member mounted for rotation about its axis and provided with a lever mounted on its outer end, so that upon rotation of the threaded member one brake pad is forced into engagement with a face of the brake disc, and by a reaction process the other brake pad is brought into engagement with the opposite face of the brake disc.
While a more direct applicaton of braking forces is considered more desirable, systems which provide a more direct applicaton of braking force appear to present problems with respect to accommodating variations of the bicycle disc from its ideal position with respect to the brake pads. Such variations may occur, for example, through normally accepted manufacturing tolerances or through bending or warping of the disc.
Thus, a need exists for a bicycle disc brake in which, not only is the braking action accomplished by a direct application of braking force, but one in which the brake is essentially self-aligning to accommodate for variations in the position of the brake disc with respect to the brake pads.
Additionally, it is desirable that such a braking system is capable of being mounted on the bicycle frame such that torque generated during the braking action is most efficiently transferred from the brake mechanism to the bicycle frame.
Further, it is highly desirable that such brakes are mounted on the bicycle frame in a manner which allows the wheel or wheels to be removed without removing or otherwise detaching the brake from the bicycle frame.